Amchi Puneite Abroad – Nikhila Deo

June 14, 2017

She never imagined she would leave her city and move to the US but two years ago, that’s exactly what happened to Nikhila Deo. Widowed at thirty-four, this gutsy lady, who was pregnant with her second son, reinvented herself and did not allow widowhood to get into the way of giving her sons a decent upbringing.

School life in Pune started at St. Marys but in fact, some of her closest friends are the ones she made in the ninth and tenth grade when she moved to St Josephs. She went on to study at BMCC and did her MBA at Symbiosis before embarking on her career path. It was at college that she met and married her husband, after dating him forever. She got her first job at Xerox and worked for them for three years before switching to Times of India, with whom she had a twenty-four-year long relationship. She was with the Times heading the ‘Newspaper in Education’ division when she left for the US. This is because she started a new relationship in her life, with her current husband. She met him through a friend and never imagined her life was set to change, especially considering she had just turned fifty!

In fact, the lady says with a smile, “growth happens only with change.” Each change in her circumstance brought growth and learning into her life. The years after her first husband’s death were not easy. She learnt how to survive but remembers it as a tough period. Immediately after his death, she moved in with her sister in the US. She needed a break away from the memories of Pune. Her baby was born while she was visiting her sister. Finally, she managed to pull herself together and returned to Pune. She moved in with her parents and hunkered down.

She gave her children the best she could with schools, holidays and quality time. She began enjoying her single life and the freedom it afforded her, which is why her unexpected marriage still surprises her. Her second husband wooed her and she found him irresistible enough to take the bull by the horns and move. It was like a Bollywood script. They were introduced via facebook on November 3rd. He came to India with a ring on January 17th. She moved to the US on April 3rd and they were married on April 15th. Why did she agree? She knew it was now or never. Change beckoned and New York happened. “It is the best thing ever. I couldn’t live anywhere else,” says Nikhila with a happy grin. She enjoys that the city allows you to be independent, gives you the ability to zip off at the drop of a hat and nurtures anonymity. “No one cares. I can sing on the road, wear what I want and no one gives me a second look.”

Her children love it too. She herself got her green card a year ago. Her younger son was an American in any case. As luck would have it, her sons had just finished twelfth and tenth in Pune. The Deos began a new chapter in New York, where one son is already in college and the other one is set to start this Fall. Academically, Nikhila loves what New York has offered her boys who have blossomed and are doing well.

Nikhila herself is looking for a job to give her something to do in the day. Her husband works long hours and she is soon to become an empty nester. In the meantime, she puts to use her background in media and writes content for an online travel website. One of four sisters, they are three siblings in the US and one in Malaysia so the girls take it in turns to visit Pune and spend time with their aging parents.  Nikhila visits Pune at least twice a year keeping alive her connection to the city she loves because as much as she loves her life in New York, she misses the social life of Pune. She misses friends dropping it at any hour, she misses the medical attention she gets in Pune especially since she has had both knees replaced. Above all she misses eating shev dahi batata puri at her favorite eating joint.

With an upcoming Pune trip, it may be coffee in Brooklyn today but next stop, Vaishali.